Phocas Financial Corp. Has $18.34 Million Stake in SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW)

Phocas Financial Corp. reduced its position in shares of SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SKYW - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,159 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 43,226 shares during the period. SkyWest comprises about 2.4% of Phocas Financial Corp.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Phocas Financial Corp. owned 0.45% of SkyWest worth $18,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in SkyWest by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 19,500 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,495 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,145 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,783 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of SkyWest by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 14,786 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,481,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

SkyWest Trading Down 0.5%

SkyWest stock traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $101.80. 352,355 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 395,160. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 1.88. SkyWest, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.61 and a 12 month high of $135.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $92.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.65.

SkyWest (NASDAQ:SKYW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The transportation company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $948.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $946.13 million. SkyWest had a net margin of 9.15% and a return on equity of 14.17%. SkyWest's revenue was up 18.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. Analysts forecast that SkyWest, Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

SkyWest announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the transportation company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at SkyWest

In other SkyWest news, CEO Russell A. Childs sold 17,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.91, for a total value of $1,715,470.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 449,242 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,333,010.22. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Wade J. Steel sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.02, for a total value of $1,515,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 119,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,404.32. This represents a 11.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on SKYW. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of SkyWest from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $119.00 to $117.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of SkyWest from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of SkyWest from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd.

SkyWest Company Profile

SkyWest, Inc is the holding company for two scheduled passenger airline operations and an aircraft leasing company. SkyWest's airline companies provide commercial air service in cities throughout North America with nearly 3,000 daily flights carrying more than 53 million passengers annually. SkyWest Airlines operates through partnerships with United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.